The BMW Group – one of Germany’s largest industrial companies, is one of the most successful car and motorcycle manufacturers in the world. With BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group owns three of the strongest premium brands in the automobile industry. The vehicles it manufactures set the highest standards in terms of aesthetics, dynamics, technology and quality, borne out by the Company’s leading position in engineering and innovation. In addition to its strong position in the motorcycles market, the BMW Group also offers a successful range of financial services.
In 2012 – BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand cars increased by 10.6 % to 1,845,186 units (2011: 1,668,982). Record sales volume figures were registered across the board with 1,540,085* BMW (2011: 1,380,384* units; + 11.6 %), 301,526 MINI (2011: 285,060 units; + 5.8 %) and 3,575 Rolls-Royce cars (2011: 3,538 units; + 1.0 %) sold during the 12-month period. The new BMW 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series and BMW X models were particularly successful within a portfolio of models brimming with attractive cars. The MINI Countryman, the MINI Coupé and the new MINI Roadster also played an important role in making in 2012. The number of BMW brand motorcycles sold in 2012 climbed by 2.0 % to 106,358 units (2011: 104,286 units). Husqvarna recorded a sales volume of 10,751 units (2011: 9,286 units; + 15.8 %)
The number of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sold worldwide rose to 72.6 million units (+ 5.7 %) in 2012, primarily on the back of increased demand in the USA and China. This time, however, demand in the
USA provided the strongest momentum, with the market growing by 13.4 % to 14.5 million units. After a period of exceptionally rapid growth in China, including several years of double-digit growth, the passenger car market expanded by a relatively moderate 9.4 % in 2012 to approximately 13.3 million units. In Europe, the number of new registrations fell once again in 2012 (12.5 million units; – 7.8 %). The decrease in Germany was less pronounced, with new registrations down by 2.9 % to approximately 3.1 million units.
MINI brand with new record sales volume MINI surpassed the sales volume threshold of 300,000 units for the first time in a single year by achieving a new record of 301,526 units (+ 5.8 %). Sales of the MINI Countryman rose sharply to 102,271 units (+ 14.9 %), while sales of the MINI Coupé practically tripled to 11,311 units (2011: 3,799 units). The new MINI Roadster recorded sales volume of 9,202 units in the period since its market launch. In a contrasting trend, however, sales were down on last year’s levels for the MINI Hatch (131,569 units; – 4.1 %), the MINI Convertible (24,474 units; – 16.5 %) and the MINI Clubman (22,699 units; – 11.8 %). The MINI brand continued to generate a very high-value product mix in 2012, with 44.5 % of customers opting for the MINI Cooper, 35.7 % for the MINI Cooper S and 19.8 % for the MINI One.